Thursday, October 15, 2009

NTC Day 25: Luke 4, 2 Cor. 7-9

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

Paul is using the grace of Jesus to effect two movements in the hearts and minds of the people of Corinth.

First, he is trying to move their hearts towards generosity in response to the immeasurable generosity that Christ had towards them. "For your sakes he became poor." He left glory, honor, position and status to become humble, poor, and . . . human. So if Christ did all this for you, what should you not do for him and for others in his name?

Second, he is trying to move their mindset away from earthly riches. Notice that he says that the Corinthians, through Christ's poverty, "become rich". Now he certainly doesn't mean that as soon as they received Christ, there was gold spilling out of their purses. Rather he is contrasting the infinite superiority of the generosity of Christ in the spiritual realm.

Thus, if you have become spiritually rich by the generosity of Christ, how can you not be generous in these smaller and temporary things?

What about you? Has your heart been moved by the generosity of Christ? Does your giving and generosity in your daily life reflect that?

Has your mindset been moved away from esteeming physical riches as better than spiritual riches? Does your giving and generosity in your daily life reflect that?